What You Never Knew You Needed to Know About Email Deliverability

We always talk about how Email Marketing is the most of effective way to reach your consumer base. Statistics show that for every $1.00 invested in Email Marketing, you receive about $44.00 average in return.

But here is the thing: if your emails are not landing in a user’s inbox, then they are completely useless.

Follow these tips to make sure that your emails are being delivered:

1. Make your IP address trustworthy
ISP filters that are implemented in inboxes are there to defend against spam. You will need to let these filters know that your IP address is a trustworthy source. Start your campaigns by sending an email to smaller batches of addresses that you know are active. When these initial emails begin to be received and opened, the ISP filters will begin to trust your IP address. Continue to slowly increase the numbers in your email campaign to ensure that the ISP filters do not try to block your emails from being sent to inboxes.

2. Use a Sender Policy Framework
A Sender Policy Framework (SPF) creates a relationship of trust between the server on the receiving end and your IP address. By using an SPF, you are telling the receiving servers that your sending address is monitored by administrators and sets policies around your sent emails that receiving servers can recognize. The receiving server cross-checks your domain name against your IP address and approves your emails for delivery.

3. Check your Sender Score
Emails with a low sender score are always marked as spam by ISP filters. Sender scores are calculated by metrics such as spam reports and unsubscribes. The sender score is on a scale of 1-100. Check your sender score for free at senderscore.org, and see what you could do to increase it.

4. Keep your send schedule consistent
IP addresses sometimes get rejected due to too many random broadcasts. Sending emails haphazardly will cause filters to mark you with a red flag. Stick to that schedule and avoid sending more than one email per week.

5. Purge your contacts
High bounce rates are caused by emails sent to non-active accounts. High bounce rates lead to your emails being marked as spam. These email addresses may exist on your contact lists due to typos, duplicates, fake addresses, or outdated domains. Pick a time, every few months, to remove users that have not interacted with your emails in a while. There are online services that can help you scrub your contact list. Visit neverbounce.com or datavalidation.com

6. Check the blacklists
Blacklists are created to protect users from IP addresses that have a high spam rate. There are multiple free services that allow you to view blacklists. Make sure you are not on one. If you find that you are listed on a blacklist, contact the website that added you to the list. You can check blacklists for free at mxtoolbox.com or blacklistalert.org.

Email deliverability is the first step to having a successful email marketing campaign. If you are having trouble with spam filters, or even if you’re not, implement these practices to make sure your messages are being sent to inboxes.